Staff Report
Physicians, nurses, UCSB scientists and other researchers recently gathered for the 2018 Collaborative Research Symposium hosted by the Cottage Health Research Institute in collaboration with UCSB.
Held at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, the event provided an opportunity to bring together clinicians, healthcare providers, fellows, residents, faculty and staff to share ideas, make new connections and attract grant funding.
A total of 22 presentations were shared with the audience of 150 guests who attended the free, all-day event.
The keynote address was given by Dr. Kevin W. Plaxo, a UCSB professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and director of the Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program for the Center for Bioengineering. His presentation discussed drug delivery using high-precision, feedback-controlled devices.
Other presentations came from researchers in autism, cancer tumors, pulmonary hypertension, diabetes, gastroenterology, neurology, retina research and more.
Since its debut in 2014, the research symposium has grown to attract a larger number of participants and wider variety of projects.
“We have seen growth in our network of collaborative partners throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,” said Richard Beswick, Vice President of Research and Chief Research Officer at Cottage Health. “We began with the collaboration between just UCSB and Cottage, but now the event has expanded to also include other academic institutions, such as Santa Barbara City College, and local organizations like Advanced Life Technologies, Evidation Health, Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, Community Memorial Hospital, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Imagine X Functional Neurology and California Retina Consultants.”
The number of research projects has quadrupled since 2016 to more than 200 active studies, Beswick said, and the total funding for 2018 has reached $325,000. Grants are available for up to $50,000.
For more information about the program, visit www.cottagehealth.org/research
